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We are counting hours before the Rotary Polio End Game Olympics kicks off on Saturday 7th December, 2019. The new venue is Parklands Sports Club.

A percentage of the proceeds from this event will go towards The Rotary Foundation. The most EXCITING thing is, if your Rotary or Rotaract club registers a TEAM for the 6-aside tournament, they stand a chance to walk away with a CASH PRIZE. There is something for everyone, so get your sport gear and be part of the Rotary Polio End Game Olympics!

Below are SEVEN things you need to know:

Entry cost: KSh 1,500 per Rotarian/Adult; KSh 1,000 per Rotaractor or children between 13 and 18 years, and KSh 800 for children below 12 years.

KSh 50,000 team registration: This is for Rotary clubs that will participate in the 6-aside tournament. They stand a chance to win a CASH prize for a community project of their choice.

Six aside Team: The KSh 50,000 is for registration to the 6-aside tournament. If your Rotary or Rotaract club is not participating in the 6-aside tournament, you can still come for the Rotary Polio End Game Olympics. Come with your friends, children and fellow Rotary members.

Discount rate: Any Rotary Club that sponsors a second team to the 6-aside tournament will pay KSh 30,000 for the second team! This increases your chances to win the CASH prize!!

Non Rotarians can attend: Non-Rotarians, family and friends are welcome. They will pay KSh 1,500 per adult; KSh 1,000 per children between 13 and 18 years, and KSh 800 for children below 12 years.

Rotaract and Rotary Club collabos: Want to have a STRONG team? How about doing a collabo between your Rotary and Rotaract clubs? You can register for the 6 aside tournament or come and participate in the many games lined up.

Games of the day: 90% of games will be fun games like: touch rugby, Kati, Bladder, Bano, Sack Race, Tag of War, Shake etc. Only 10% of games will be serious games including 6-aside soccer and relays.

This is the first time in District 9212 that all clubs in the District are coming together to enjoy a fun day with our friends and families. Your Rotary/Rotaract Club cannot afford to miss!! Register HERE!!!! The weather will be PERFECT by the way!!

Every month, the Rotary Club of Nairobi East dedicates a Tuesday to its members to share about their vocations. On Tuesday 12th November, two newly inducted Rotarians shared about their vocations during the lunch fellowship. Below is what they spoke about.

George Rutto, banker/financial expert

George Rutto giving his talk

“I started out as a Management trainee many years ago at National Bank of Kenya and I have risen to my current position as Head of Internal Audit.

For many years
Auditors weren’t referred to as Auditors, they were referred to as ‘Inspectors’
– they would check everything including what work has been left pending at the
end of a given work day. They would randomly stop work at any point to check
what has been done and in banks, if tellers had any cash shortages.

Audit was purely about
compliance.

Audit, as we know it
today, now evaluates risk in addition to compliance. The times started changing
in 2008 when there was the global financial crisis. The questions raised after
this financial crisis revolved mostly around where internal audit and
management of the different organizations were as all that happened.

A committee was
formed to check how the crisis happened and it was found that Internal Audit’s
focus was on compliance. There was no focus on Governance and Risk Management. This
is how the role of Internal Audit changed from an Inspector to an advisor, a
partner in business.

What
Internal Audit involves

Internal Audit is no
longer about sitting in a corner until review is needed and done; it is now
about being part of strategy development and execution.

Internal Auditors
review risk and governance in organizations, including review of IT systems.
Given people have moved to seeking services from IT systems (like using an App
to perform banking transactions), audit of IT systems has become crucial.

Also, Internal Audit,
more so in banks, is now being done using IT tools given the high number of
transactions being done online and on mobile devices. The use of the tools is
also due to the need to capture customer data real time to aid in planning and
prompt addressing of customer queries.

Internal Auditors
being involved in strategy development and execution has opened new
opportunities for Auditors since the exposure enables them to effectively
function in other departments.”

Rosemary Adhi – Clinician

Rosemary Adhi talking about her vocation

“I studied clinical medicine and surgery at theKenya Medical Training College, Nairobi. I did my internship at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH). I have worked in various hospitals through the years, working in dermatological and chest departments.

I have been at KNH since 2008 and in the chest department since 2012. I moved to the Asthma clinic two months ago. I am also a student at Kenyatta University pursuing an Environmental Health course.

I have participated in various community projects in my home area of Marsabit including the successful lobbying for the installation of a Safaricom mast in one of the constituencies in Marsabit, the building of an ablution block in one of the primary schools and giving of dignity Kits to girls in 5 schools. I also mentor primary school children. In addition to all the above, I am a mother to five children.

Rtn. George receives an appreciation pin

Rtn. Adhi receives an appreciation pin

Q&A

Is there a way that
internal auditors contribute to the growth of a company except in monitoring?

George:Yes, there are. Now Internal Auditors participate in the development and
implementation of strategies therefore, they participate in pre-audit of
projects to help determine where money might be lost. They also advise on any
governance concerns.

Can you tell the
health/diet of a person by looking at their skin?

Adhi:Yes, you can. The doctor will advise accordingly
just by looking at your skin. If, for example, the complaint is dull skin, a
medic will tell, just by looking at you, that the root of it is not taking much
water and taking drinks that dehydrate – like alcohol. They will therefore
recommend a diet full of vegetables, fruits and water and avoidance of daily consumption
of red meat.

How do you maintain
work-life balance?

Adhi:As a mother of five children, time with them has to
intentional. I must intentionally plan and allocate time and ensure I spend it
with my family.

A visit by the District Governor (DG) is one of the most important events in a Rotary club. In District 9212, it is tradition for an incumbent DG to visit clubs at least once. The visit gives a DG deeper insights about what clubs are doing while he/she shares his/her vision and feedback with the club leadership and general membership.

Who is a DG?A District Governor (DG) is a Rotarian who is the titular head of a district, a subdivision of Rotary International that encompasses all the Rotary clubs in a geographic area. Our district, 9212 – covers four countries (Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Eritrea). It has 144 District Officers chosen due to their passion, their knowledge of Rotary and their track record. Rotary is made up of +35,000 clubs with +1.2 million members across the world.

DG Joe Otin during his visit to Total Rehab Center where the RC of Nairobi East is installing a biodigester that will provide at least 80% of the home’s energy needs.

On Tuesday 5 th November, RC Nairobi East hosted DG Joe Otin. Earlier that morning, the Club President Dan Awendo and the Projects Committee took the DG to Total Rehab Centre in Kasarani where RC Nairobi East is building a bio digester and installing a water tank for the home.

A biodigester being installed at Total Rehab Home that caters for over 50 children with autism, cerebral palsy and other mental challenges.

After the project visit, the DG held a Board meeting with the RC Nairobi East leadership and there after joined the members for a lunch fellowship. The luncheon had over 60 people who included Rotarians visiting Rotarians, Rotaractors and guests.

For those who do not know, Joe Otin is a past member of RC Nairobi East having joined the club in 2001. Four years later (in 2014/5), he became the President of the club. After his successful tenure as one of the youngest presidents of the club, Otin went ahead to serve in various district and international positions. His first Rotary International role was as the Rotary Public Image Coordinator, Africa from 2010 to 2015.

DG’s address to RC Nairobi East

Therefore, in many ways, Otin’s visit to RC Nairobi East was a homecoming for him. Members had prepared adequately for his visit; RC Nairobi East acknowledges that Otin’s Rotary journey started in the club. Before becoming a DG in June 2019, Otin said he was warned about two things: the gruelling schedule and the weight gain. He admitted that he has added a few kilos but we reassure him, we have not noticed the extra pounds he claims to have added. Otin said the previous DGs did not warn him about is how fulfilling the job would be; “interacting with and seeing the work of Rotarians across the District,” he told RC Nairobi East members. Otin shared about his recent visit to the Rotary Club of Bondo. He said Rotarians in Bondo had built a house for a widow who was living in squalor. “Poverty had forced her daughter to be married off at the tender age of 15. She (widow) was moved by that gift of a home,” Otin said.

District 9212 strategic planThe DG also shared the district’s plan at the luncheon. Before he became DG, Otin set up a strategic planning committee to research and provide goals to be achieved during 2019-2020 Rotary year. Findings from the committee revealed that Rotary clubs in District 9212 are generally doing well in membership and giving. Secondly, there is a lot of potential that is not being tapped. As DG he decided he was going to lead the District in Elevating the Game! This is how the 2019-2020 Rotary theme came to be.

Four months into his tenure, District 9212 has recorded significant achievement. Club officers have received world-class training that was facilitated by senior Rotary International leaders. Another achievement has been the launch of the online district newsletter popularly known as the Timeline.The DG encouraged members to register for the District Conference Assembly 2020. The current price is $150. The target is to have 1,000 Rotarians and 500 Rotaractors attending. Also on the DG’s to-do list is raising $1 million for Polio be asking one million people to give at least KSh 100 ($1) each. The District will also approach corporates and members of the public.

DG inducts 10 members

The Rotary Club of Nairobi East inducted 10 new members.

At the luncheon, DG Otin inducted 10 new members in RC Nairobi East. The new members are from various vocations. The club’s membership committee led by its Director Rosemary Njeri, has continued to actively pursue prospective members. At the start of the Rotary year – July 2019 – the club had 62 members. In October, we inducted two new members and in November we have added 10 making the total number of members to go up to 74. “This will get us very close to 50% of our target of 31 new members in the year. We also hope to use November to accelerate plans for inducting the Rotaractors who were interested in transitioning to the club, and also finalize the formation of RC Nairobi Morningside and RC Nairobi Ushuru. If we bag these three initiatives, we should be well within reaching our target of 32 new members,” says President Dan Awendo.

About Joe OtinMr. Otin is the Chief Executive Officer of The Collective, an interactive ad agency focusing on social media management and digital advertising with its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. For the past 26 years Otin has been influential in the advertising and media industry across Africa. He is the former Managing Director of Ipsos Media Division in pan-Africa, a Past President of the Pan-African Media Research Organization (PAMRO), the Chairman of the Advertising Standards Board in Kenya. He is also a member of the Oversight Committee of the Kenya Audience Research Foundation (KARF), a member of the Marketing Society of Kenya (MSK) and the Public Relations Society of Kenya (PRSK). He is a columnist of the Business Daily newspaper where he writes on the subject of marketing and digital advertising.Otin is a classical guitar player, an avid photographer, a voracious reader and occasionally enjoys a round of golf. He is married to Evlyn and they have one daughter called Mardea.

We have just
finished a very busy month of October. This was a special month because it is
the month we marked World Polio Day – on 24th October.

As you already know, Rotary has been working hard to eradicate polio for
more than 30 years. So far, we have made incredible progress rid the world of polio
forever. As a founding partner of the Global Polio
Eradication Initiative, Rotary has helped to reduce polio cases by more
than 99.9%.

On the week we marked World Polio Day, we hosted a polio survivor at our
Tuesday fellowship. The speaker – Gilbert Langat – shared his life story. He gave
a moving story of how he was diagnosed with Polio late in his childhood and how
his parents tried using traditional medicine to treat the disease.

“Let’s not allow polio to rob our children – vaccinate them against polio. Let’s spread the word about polio and educate Kenyans about vaccination,” he said.

Gilbert Langat with President Dan Awendo after he gave a talk at the Rotary Club of Nairobi East. He encouraged Rotarians to sensitize Kenyans about the importance of ensuring their children take the polio vaccine. (Photo: Caleb Mbuvi)

This is the first time the Rotary Club of Nairobi East has hosted such a
speaker. I must say the talk was an eye opening moment for many Rotarians and
guests as we came face to face with the reality of polio.

Down memory lane

I will start
with a short recap of the October activities before I reveal the exciting activities
you should expect in November.

As a club, we have maintained the strategy to use our
fellowships and club projects to attract prospective members to our club. This
is also a strategy that has helped us keep our members engaged.

In October, we hosted two renown specialist doctors
who gave us insights about their vocations.The first was a talk about cardiovascular
diseases delivered by Dr. James Munene, a cardio thoracic surgeon who took us
through causes of heart diseases and prevention measures. We also invited Dr.
Tilman Stasch, a constructive and reconstructive surgeon to talk to us about
his work. He educated us about reconstructive and cosmetic surgical procedures.

As a way of spicing up our fellowships, we held two panel discussion sessions in October. The first, was a panel discussion moderated by President Elect Tom Shivo. This was a HR debate about office romance. The debaters were Rotarian Edwin Kimani and Beatrice Nyamache. The debate brought the pros and cons of office romance.

This debate had two speakers who argued for and against office romance. Before the debate started the moderator conducted an opinion poll. Majority of the audience were against office romance. After the talk, another poll was conducted and the findings were rather interesting!!

The
second was a panel discussion with two Lion’s Den judges – Kris Senanu and
Joanne Mwangi-Yelbert. They spoke about entrepreneurship in a disruptive
environment. It was interesting to see a full house of Rotarians who came to learn
about the good, bad and ugly side of entrepreneurship. The session was
moderated by President Dan Awendo.

Other
activities in the month included: An entrepreneurship training for our RCC
partners in Olooropil. This was organized by the Vocational Services Committee
under Director Beatrice Kariuki. The objective was to share entrepreneurship insights
to help the community set up viable businesses and hopefully enable them
generate income that will continue supporting some of our joint projects we
have in the community.

We
also held a joint fundraising Karaoke with RC Nairobi Industrial Area. Although
we missed our targeted by a small margin, the evening it turned out to be an
excellent social attended by over seven clubs who sang and danced their way until
the wee hours of the morning.

Finally, we did two successful home visits. We visited Rotarian Mike Challo’s family to celebrate their son – Baby Shaka. Members also attended a thanksgiving fellowship hosted by Rotarian Grace Njoroge at her home in honour of her late mother.

President Dan Awendo leading the Lion’s Den Judges (on the extreme right Kris Senanu and Joanne Mwangi-Yelbert) in giving the loyal toast.

What awaits you in November

In
case you do not know, November is Foundation month!!

We have kicked off with an excellent visit from District
Governor Joe Otin. This was an exciting homecoming given Joe Otin is a past
President of the Rotary Club of Nairobi East. In 2014, Otin went on to become a
charter member of the Rotary Club of Nairobi Lavington sponsored by RC Nairobi
East.

Before joining members for fellowship, the DG visited Total
Rehabilitation Center to see the biogas facility we are putting up/ (More
details about the project below). The DG also held a closed door meeting with
Club Directors to discuss their activities.

Nairobi East now has 74 members

During our lunch fellowship, we had a big surprise for the DG. We inducted 10 members to the club. At the start of the year, one of the goals we set was to grow our membership by 50%. That 50% means we have to induct 31 new members. By June 2020, we are aiming at having 93 members.

The
Membership Committee has taken up this challenge very seriously and so far we
have inducted 12 members (two in October and 10 in November) who bring in diverse
vocations to our club. I am happy that we now have more members in the medical
field which is a vocation we lacked.

As
a strategy, one of the things we intend to do is reach out to Rotaractors who have
shown interest in transitioning to Rotary. We are also looking at setting up
the Rotary Club of Nairobi Morningside and a corporate club at the Kenya
Revenue Authority.

Below
are the activities planned in November:

Plans are underway to establish ourselves as an “All
Giving Club” by the end of the month. We will approach all members and request
them to give their every Rotarian Every Year’s (EREY) contributions by November
30th. These funds are normally collected via the annual subs.

In addition, we target to increase the number of PHFs
by end of the month. To achieve our goal, the club intends to take advantage of
the matching offer announced by the DG in July. This means members are only
required to give $500 and the other $500 will be matched by the District.
Towards this end, the Foundation Committee has already put together data on the
number of available points that can be used by members to upgrade their PHFs. I
appeal to members to apply for club points and boost their PHF donations.

To
give members a better understanding of The Rotary Foundation (TRF) and how to
engage with it, on Tuesday 19th November, we have invited Past
District Governor Eric Kimani. This lunch fellowship will be a forum where we
can learn how to improve our giving to TRF.

At
the end of the month, the District will host a Foundation Dinner on Saturday 30th
November. and which will be graced by
the presence of Yinka Babalola, Rotary International Vice President. All
Rotarians who will have contributed to TRF as PHFs, Major Donors, new Bequest
and Benefactors will be recognized at this dinner. Members are encouraged to make
their payments directly to TRF or to District 9212 TRF account by cash, cheques
or Mpesa.

As I conclude, I am excited to announce that we have starting the process of building a bio-gas unit at the Total Rehabilitation Center, Kasarani. This year, we committed to help the home supplement its energy requirements. This will help the home reduce costs related to cooking and lighting by almost 80%. We also intend to install a water tank to facilitate additional water storage and fix rain water gutters to help them harvest rain water. We are committed to ensuring that the children have a comfortable environment to live in.

NB: I apologise for sending out this note late. Next
month, I promise the note will be out by the first of the month. Wishing you a
happy month of November!

https://www.rotarynairobieast.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Polio-End-Game-e1572969795808.jpg533800adminhttps://www.rotarynairobieast.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/RCNE-Logo.pngadmin2019-11-05 16:04:272019-11-05 16:07:41President Dan Awendo’s monthly note: This is what awaits you in November